
1 



} 



DELIVERED AT THE ORDINATION OF 



THE 



REV. BENJAMIN F- CLARKE, 



TO 

THE PASTORAL CARE OF 

J5THE 

CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH AND SOCIETY IN BUCKLAND, 

February 4, 1824. 



b 



BY CHARLES JENKINS, 

Minister of the 2d Congregational Society in Greenfield. 



PvMished at the request of the inhabitant* of Buekland, 



GREENFIELD : 
PRINTED BY DENIO, CLARK & TYLERv 






2> 






3898. 



2 CORINTHIANS II. 16. 

WHO IS SUFFICIENT FOR THESE THINGS ? 

The christian ministry viewed in its immediate, sep- 
arate from its more remote and important conse- 
quences, exerts an influence on society at once the 
most commanding and salutary. By a full and accu- 
rate exhibition of divine truth, it discloses the only ap- 
propriate foundation of all sound morality, and furnish- 
es those sanctions by which alone its practice can be 
successfully inforced. It developes those relations and 
urges those duties which are essential to the well be- 
ing of communities — relations which otherwise could 
not be perceived — duties which are no where else en- 
joined. The justness of this remark is abundantly il- 
lustrated by a reference to facts. Withia the circle 
of daily observation, may be discovered undeniable 
proof of the efficiency of a preached gospel in regu- 
lating the manners, improving the morals, and promot- 
ing the secular interests of individuals and communi- 
ties. When all other attempts to reform the lives and 
meliorate the condition of mankind, have utterly failed, 
the ministry of reconciliation — " the speaking of the 
truth in love" has had a most salutary influence on the 
moralities and decencies of society. But it has a high- 
er object than merely the reformation of morals, and 
the promotion of the decencies and felicities of the 
present life. Its design partakes of that characteris- 
tick grandeur, which invests all the plans of Him, who 
" is wonderful in council and excellent in working." It 
aims to perfect that gracious dispensation, for whose 
accomplishment the Saviour suffered and died : ; and 



which for sixty centuries, has been the object of Jeho- 
vah's providential care. It looks beyond the narrow 
range of time, and respects the unchanging realities of 
eternity. However directly the present welfare and 
concerns of men — the interests and conduct of states 
and empires, may be affected by the christian ministry, 
its grand and ultimate purposes respect an object in- 
conceivably more important and interesting. Its busi- 
ness is with the immortal soul. It seeks its recovery 
from those inherent pollutions, which would ensure its 
eternal separation from God. A ruined world is the 
sphere of its operations. Here it labours to give vi- 
tality to moral death — to pour celestial day upon eyes 
oppressed with night. . 

Such are the design and tendency of the christian 
ministry. And who that has received the investiture 
of its holy prerogatives, and been consecrated to its 
services, does not tremble? Who can view himself a 
minister of reconciliation, an ambassador of Christ, and 
not be led to ask with unaffected humility? Who is 
sufficient fir these things ? Under a sense of unworthi- 
ness and insufficiency so overpowering, who that is 
" set for the defence of the gospel," would not desire, 
that his lips might be touched with a live coal from 
off the altar of God ? And surely on an occasion con- 
nected with so many interesting and solemn associations 
as the present, when another is to be consecrated to the 
high and holy avocations of the rmnistry, it becomes us 
to pause, and to send an exploring glance over the field 
of its operations, to ascertain its duties, and to antici- 
pate its difficulties and peculiar supports. And I feel 
myself assured of the indulgence of this christian au- 
dience, while these topicks are very briefly considered. 

I. A concise view will be taken of the more impor- 
tant duties of the gospel ministry. Those only can be 
adverted to, which have an intimate relation, or are 
peculiarly subsidiary, to the great business of the min- 
istry — the public preaching — the plain exhibition of 
divine truth. In order successfully to preach to oth- 



ers, a minister of the gospel must cultivate a deep and 
thorough acquaintance with himself. Without this he 
may be eloquent, but he cannot be effective. He may 
speak with the tongue of an angel, but will not reach 
the conscience. Destitute of this he may understand 
all mysteries, but he will not understand the avenues 
to conviction. He may have a faith to remove moun- 
tains, but will not move the hearts of sinners. He may 
give all his goods to feed the poor, and his own body 
to be burned, but will leave the hungry soul to famish 
and the impenitent to endure the fire, that is never to 
be quenched! Unless he has been made acquainted 
with the desperate malady, which sin has introduced 
into his own and the souls of his hearers — unless too 
from a personal experience of its power, he is able to 
bear witness to the transforming efficacy of the remedy 
offered in the gospel, and its suitableness to their case, 
however, extensive and varied may be his attainments, 
he is nevertheless " a physician of no value." No one 
can faithfully execute the dread commission of the gos- 
pel ministry, who does not habitually and deeply study 
" the plague of his own heart" — its native alienation 
from God — its grovelling attachment to objects of 
sense — and its strong disinclination to converse w T ith 
spiritual objects. Without such a communion with 
himself and a spirit of prayer for divine assistance, no 
one can be qualified to address the awakening denun- 
ciations of God's law, to those who are slumbering on 
the brink of ruin, or to apply the promises of the gos- 
pel, to those who have " awaked to righteousness and 
put on the armour of light." Self acquaintance then, 
leading to the cultivation of a deep vital piety, is an 
indispensable requisite to ministerial usefulness. Other 
knowledge " puffeth up," this " edifieth." 

2. It is the duty of a christian minister to be a man 
of intellectual exertion. He is continually to extend 
his acquaintance with those branches of knowledge 
which have a direct or collateral bearing upon the sa- 
cred function to which he is devoted. This duty clear- 



ly results from the explicit injunctions of scripture. 
The gospel minister is directed to meditate on all 
things connected with his office, to give himself wholly 
to them, that his " profiting may appear to all." He 
is to be " apt to teach," and must therefore, be dili- 
gent to learn. He is not to be " a novice," and there- 
fore, must be extensively and familiarly acquainted 
with all the great subjects of natural and revealed re- 
ligion. In the commencement of his sacerdotal labours, 
his youth is not to be despised ; he must therefore, 
study to be "thoroughly furnished, a workman that need 
not be ashamed." Clear and comprehensive views of 
the great system of divine truth are obviously necessa- 
ry ; the word of God must therefore be his constant 
guide, and instructer. He is a consecrated almoner of 
a spiritual dispensation ; from the holy scriptures, as 
from an exhaustless treasury, he must therefore, 
" bring forth things new and old." The word of God 
must be the prime object of his studious attention. 
Thoroughly to understand its sacred contents, must re- 
quire intense and persevering mental application. 

]Nor is the christian minister to neglect the cultiva- 
tion of a correct literary taste. His duty — his useful- 
ness requires that he go along with the progress of 
literature and science. To compass so much — to make 
attainments so varied and extensive, and to bring them 
all to " the work of the ministry, for the edifying of 
the body of Christ," demands integrity of heart unit- 
ed to an active vigorous mind intensely devoted to mor- 
al and intellectual improvement. Unless the whole 
mind is thus strenuously exerted in the advancement of 
genuine Christianity, no religious teacher can be sup- 
posed to " study to shew himself approved of God, a 
workman that needeth not to be ashamed." Indo- 
lence is a most common and a most unyielding enemy 
to a minister's usefulness. He needs to watch against 
its fatal approaches. Without mental labour he may, 
indeed, bring his offering to the Lord, but it will be 
u of that which cost him nothing." He may think to 



tight up the lamps of the sanctuary ; but he will do it 
with unbeaten oil. No, a gospel minister cannot be in 
any good degree useful, cannot " make full proof of his 
ministry," cannot " make his profiting appear unto all" 
unless he give himself with habitual diligence to study, 
In his study he must purchase acceptable offerings for 
the Lord — there he must prepare the " beaten oil for 
the sanctuary," and there ne must burnish his armour 
to fight in the cause of truth. It is such a minister, 
and may 1 not add only such ? who 

Armed himself in panoply complete, 
Of heavenly temper, furnishes with arms 
Bright as his own, and trams by every rule 
Of holy discipline, to glorious war, 
The sacramental host of God's elect. 

3. It is the duty of a christian minister plainly t& 
preach the gospel. This I consider to be his grand, 
though not exclusive business. He is required to visit 
the people of his charge, especially in sickness and ad- 
versity So far also, as higher obligations may allow, 
he is to meet those who occasionally assemble for 
prayer and religious improvement, at seasons not di- 
vinely appointed to these services. But no ordinary, 
no minor engagements should be suffered to interrupt 
a preparation for the appropriate duties of the sab- 
bath. This is the day consecrated by God to religious 
instruction and edification. The place is dedicated to 
the worship of Jehovah, and the solemn rites of reli- 
gion. On the christian sabbath in the house of God a 
large part of every minister's charge is, or ought to be 
assembled to hear the saving truths of the gospel. 
And there the minister of Christ is sacredly obliged to 
meet them and to declare the counsel of God. He is 
required to exhibit the great truths of religion plainly. 
He is to watch for souls— souls that may be lost — 
souls that will be lost, unless sanctified through the 
truth. These souls are committed to his care. In 
their eternal wellbeing he has an awful interest. If 
they are lost, it may be through his unfaithfulness, and 



8 

he may sink with them into an eternal fellowship of 
suffering ! If they are saved through his ministry, they 
may be his crown of rejoicing in the day of the Lord 
Jesus ; and he may ascend and mingle Avith them in 
the communion of glorified saints. 

In view of these amazing considerations, the ambas- 
sadour of Christ cannot withhold an explicit statement 
of fundamental truth, and a faithful application of it to 
the moral sensibilities of his hearers. He must accu- 
rately represent their true moral state by nature, their 
total alienation from God, and fearful exposure to the 
tremendous penalty of his broken law. He must la- 
bour to produce in their minds a deep and permanent 
conviction of the guilt and peril of such a state. He 
is to endeavour to make them feel their utter inability 
to offer any satisfaction for past sinfulness, to cleanse 
themselves from inherent pollution, or to escape from 
the future dominion of their own deranged and vitiat- 
ed moral powers. He is to urge upon them the ne- 
cessity of the great vicarious satisfaction for the sin of 
the world made by the suffering and death of the Sen 
of God, to secure the salvation of any individual of our 
ruined race. He must call upon them to exercise an 
habitual repentance for personal sins, and a cordial 
faith in the sufficiency and efficacy of the Ransom, as 
the only — the indispensable condition of receiving its 
benefits. He is to teach them the necessity of a total 
change of the heart by the special transforming opera- 
tion of the Holy Spirit, to be evinced by a life of prac- 
tical piety — of active selfdenying obedience. He is 
uniformly to insist on their absolute dependence upon 
God — the sovereignty which directs every spiritual 
communication; connected with the deep criminality 
of those who remain unrenewed in the temper and dis- 
positions of their minds. — These are some of the great 
doctrines and duties which he is bound plainly to teach 
and inculcate. These are the grand topicks on which 
he is to dwell. These are to be exhibited in a style 
suited to the tastes and capacities of his hearers. 



In his manner he is to avoid alike a gloomy austeri- 
ty, and a frivolous lightness. The solemnity of his 
manner should be the natural and spontaneous result 
of an impressive apprehension of the truths he commu- 
nicates. But he must not be harsh and severe. For 
" the servant of the Lord must be gentle to all men, 
patient, in meekness instructing them that oppose 
themselves." He should illustrate the truths and urge 
the practice of religion with affectionate earnestness — 
in a tone of elevated feeling equally removed from an 
excessive tenderness and a cold indifference. Not with 
an air of secret exultation at the exhibition of truths 
unwelcome to the minds of his hearers, nor yet with a 
false sensibility that forbids a full statement of truths, 
however repugnant to the native feeling of the human 
mind, and a pointed application of them to the under- 
standing and conscience. " The whole counsel of God" 
must be declared whether it be regarded or not. But 
it should be declared with tenderness, and with " the 
meekness of wisdom." He must speak the truth, but 
he must speak it " in love'' 1 — with a cordial approba- 
tion of the truth himself, and an affectionate concern 
for the souls of his hearers. He must appear, and ac- 
tually feel, 

Much impressed 
Himself, as conscious of his awful charge, 
And anxious mainly that the flock he feeds, 
May feel it too. 

In view of the magnitude and importance of the 
ministerial office, and of those varied and laborious du- 
ties connected with it, which have been imperfectly 
considered, it would seem that no heart can be unim- 
pressed with the sentiment, and no tongue unprepared 
to utter the language of the text — Who is sufficient 
for these things? Is there an individual in this ?ssem- 
bly who does not pity the man who has heedlessly 
gone to the service of the altar— who has taken the 
charge of souls with views altogether secular, entirely 
insensible to their worth, and utterly unprepared to 
2 



10 

minister to their spiritual benefit? Who does not 
tremble for a people become the willingly devoted 
victims of such a guide ? 

II. The difficulties of the christian ministry. Those 
only will be noticed which are of a general character, 
and which are more or less common to all faithful am- 
bassadors of Christ. The pious minister is by no means 
exempt from those spiritual conflicts which all real 
christians experience. Indeed they often assail him in 
thicker array, in a phalanx more impregnable, in an atti- 
tude more unyielding, and in circumstances more perilous. 
He is a more elevated mark for the shafts of persecu- 
tion on account of religious integrity. He is a more 
prominent object for the attacks of spiritual foes. He 
is placed on an eminence, and is compelled to wrestle 
not " against flesh and blood" only, but " against prin- 
cipalities and powers, against spiritual wickedness in 
high places." When fighting without subsides, he has 
a warfare within. If victory releases him from one 
conflict, it is that he may engage in another. Trials 
of this character, if not entirely peculiar to the minis- 
ter of Christ, are seldom experienced by others in a 
degree so formidable. And if they do not interrupt 
and embarrass him in the execution of his high com- 
mission, they lend a peculiar force and efficiency to 
those discouragements which meet none but the faith- 
ful preacher of the gospel. Some of these disheart- 
ening circumstances which operate to embarrass and 
discourage the devoted minister will be briefly noticed. 

1. The difficulty of fixing in the minds of the im- 
penitent, a conviction of personal guilt and danger. The 
gospel is addressed to sinners. It could not be a gos- 
pel to any others. It is proposed to beings aiflicted 
with a moral malady whose very nature deadens their 
sensibility to its dreadful tendency. It comes to those 
who are polluted with sin, but whose very pollution 
opposes a shield to the conviction of guilt. To make 
sinners feel that they are such — to give them an abid- 
ing impression of their moral disorder — to fasten in 



i: 



II 

their minds a conviction of guilt, is no easy task. In- 
deed, to convince them effectually is the work of the 
Holy Spirit only. But the grand instrument which he 
employs for this purpose is the preaching of the gos- 
el. To this work every christian minister is solemn- 
y consecrated. Into the moral wastes of this world 
he is to go forth and sow the seed of divine truth. To 
this " valley of dry bones" he is to prophesy. Possibly 
the seed may take root, vegetate, and yield an abun- 
dance of fruit unto life eternal. It may be that at the 
voice of his prophecy "the dry bones" will receive a vi- 
tal impulse, and a great multitude spring from the val- 
ley of pollution and death, to regions of purity and life. 
I say possibly. For that which is impossible with 
man, is possible with God. But how often does the 
sower scatter the seed and the prophet prophesy in 
vain. How often does tho faithful servant of Christ 
" labour in vain and spend his strength for naught." 
With a conviction of his own sinfulness and guilt, and 
a full persuasion that all others are by nature in the 
same state of moral ruin, he comes forth from sabbath 
to sabbath to the people of his charge, many of whom 
the broadest charity will not allow him to regard as re- 
pentant, and strives to arouse them to a permanent 
sense of their guilt and exposure to its tremendous 
doom. But he scarcely awakens them to perceive, 
much less to feel their actual condition. With the 
sword of the spirit, that mighty weapon put into his 
hands by the great Captain under whom he serves, he 
endeavours to reach the heart ; but he finds himself re^ 
pelled at every point of attack. 

Alas ! Leviathan is not so tamed — 

but stricken hard 

Turns to the stroke his adamantine scales, 
That fear no injury from human hands. 

He labours to drive them from their false refuges — to 
tear off the imposing attire of their self-righteousness, 
and to display to their view the hidden abominations 
of the heart. But they still cling to their " refuges of 



12 

lies," still rest upon themselves, nor turn a single 
searching gaze upon the defilements of their moral na- 
ture. Thus apparently without success — thus ineffi- 
cient; in producing in the minds of sinners any lasting 
conviction of guilt, who in view of the worth of souls, 
and his own responsibleness, would not be dishearten- 
ed? Who would not think these things against him? 
And under circumstances thus discouraging, on what 
can he rest — to what refuge escape, but the awful 
sanctuary of Jehovah^s purposes? " Even so, Father, 
for so it seemeth good in thy sight." 

2. Another source if discouragement to the faithful 
minister is the liability of offending and disgusting the 
irreligious, by direct and earnest appeals to their mor- 
al feeiings. He is by no means to be personal; but if 
faithful in this part of his duty, he will so present the 
strong marked, original lines of the human character — 
will infuse so much truth and reality into his delinea- 
tions, that each of his hearers whose conscience is not 
already seared, will perceive his own likeness, and feel 
himself addressed in the soul-thrilling emphasis of the 
prophet — " TJiou art the man" Jn doing this w T ith 
that plainness, solemnity, and affection which should 
ever characterize the " messenger of grace," it is 
scarcely possible that he escape censure. "It must 
needs be that offences come." And even those who 
have manifested a warm attachment to his person, and 
a zealous engagedness in his support, may be the first 
to become alienated in their affections, to withdraw 
themselves from his ministrations, or to become doubly 
insensible alike to the terrours of divine displeasure and 
the solicitations of boundless mercy. Among persons 
of this class, may be those of a false candour and af- 
fected liberality, who regard errour as harmless, creeds 
as useless, and all characters equally acceptable in the 
eve of Heaven, however absurd and unscriptural may 
be their principles and practice. Because he is a stew- 
ard, and is required to be faithful ; because he cannot 
make the least sacrifices, in a point of such vital conse- 



13 

quence, to any prejudices however prevailing, to any 
opinions, however popular ; he excites their disgust 
and engages their displeasure. And this too, because 
he seeks not theirs, but them. Because he dares not 
" handle the word of God deceitfully." Because he 
must act in view of the account he is to give at that 
tribunal, where he shall ere long meet them. And who 
that has tasted the bitterness of blasted hopes and ex- 
perienced the virulence of that displeasure which 
springs from the warmth of former attachments, need 
be reminded of the formidable discouragement which 
often meets the ambassador of Christ, when he finds 
his fondest expectations disappointed ? When those 
whom he hoped continually to attach to himself, and 
to be the means of attaching to God and holiness, be- 
come thoroughly imbued in " the gall of bitterness" 
against himself, while they remain alienated from God, 
and permanently fixed in "the bond of iniquity." When 
the more abundantly he loves them, the less he is lov- 
ed ; and the more assiduously he labours to bring them 
near to God, and to prepare them for heavenly joys, 
they seem more rapidly maturing for the agonies of 
the lost. 

3. There is another source of discouragement still 
more disheartening. It is the equivocal piety and in- 
consistent deportment of many who profess godliness. 
He needs the spiritual sacrifices of the vitally pious. 
He needs their fervent prayers for him at the throne 
of grace. He needs their blameless manners and sanc- 
tity of life, to sanction the testimony which he bears 
to the reality, importance, and efficacy of vital Chris- 
tianity. He needs their prompt and cordial coopera- 
tion in all his endeavours to advance the interests, and 
to extend the influence of pure religion. O ! a chris- 
tian minister needs a christian church — not in name 
merely ; but in doctrine, in spirit, and in practice. The 
fact is, however, often quite the reverse. He not sel- 
dom becomes the pastor of a flock whose views of re- 
ligious doctrines are discordant ; and in individuals;, 



14 

perhaps, fatally defective. And " how can they walk 
together, except they be agreed?" But when tnere is 
a general coincidence of views, there is often such a di- 
versity of tempers, as clearly evinces that they are not 
the fruit of the same spirit. Under such circumstan- 
ces there is great reason to fear, that their efforts will 
be disunited and their prayers hindered. The pastor 
of such a church instead of having the whole with him 
in the posture and with the ability to oppose the in- 
roads of her enemies and to extend the empire of light 
over the region of darkness, will find many enlisted in 
the enterprise, who have scarcely the habiliments, 
much less, the armour of soldiers ; who have scarcely 
" the form, much less the power of godliness." In 
their number he may find some, perhaps many of this 
character — persons who are christians, not because 
they have repented of their sins and believed in Christ ; 
but because they were born in a christian land, and 
were descended from christian parents. Because they 
have been decent and orderly in their lives, and ob- 
served all external duties " from their youth up. 1 " It 
is from a church composed of materials thus discord- 
ant, and possessing but little of the vitality of religion, 
that a minister of Christ, attached by a spirit of invin- 
cible fidelity to his master, must meet with discourage- 
ments the most appalling. He could endure to be re- 
pulsed in every attempt to fasten conviction in the 
minds of the impenitent, if he were supported by a 
church " indissolubly firm" — a company of christians, 
humble and devoted, prayerful and vigilant, clad in the 
armour, glowing with the spirit, and diffusing around 
them the element, of Heaven. He could meet the 
coldness and brave the hostility of those whom the 
truth offends, if he might repose in the confident assur- 
ance of the countenance and cooperation of those whom 
the truth makes free. But to fail of these, is to aban- 
don the last encouragement derived from earth. 

III. I come to a more grateful topick. To notice 
rery briefly some circumstances of encouragement con- 



15 

aected with the christian ministry. Its object is grand. 
It is the means employed by God to execute a plan 
the most magnificent the universe ever witnessed. Its 
aim is the moral renovation and ever increasing felicity 
of immortal minds. It is an essential part of a system 
of operations, originating in the wisdom and benignity of 
Jehovah, and tending to illustrate in the most striking- 
manner the nature and entire consistency of all his mor- 
al perfections. It is designed to promote the same 
glorious object, for which celestial intelligences become 
" ministering spirits." And whose courage would not 
be animated, whose ardour would not be enkindled, 
whose efforts would not be redoubled in cooperating 
with them in their " labours of love ?" But it is not 
from the grandeur of the object or from the dignity 
and elevation of his associates, that the minister of re- 
conciliation derives his chief encouragement. It is from 
the purposes and promises of God. It is the pleasure 
of God " by the foolishness of preaching to save them 
that believe." It is his design that the work of the 
ministry, the exhibition of his revealed truth by sinful 
men, shall be the means of converting and sanctifying 
souls. " We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that 
the excellency of the power may be of God, and not 
of us." This " excellency of power" he has promised 
to bestow. " My grace shall be sufficient for you ; 
for my strength is made perfect in weakness." " Not by 
might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord 
of Hosts." From this promised aid the preacher of 
the cross may take courage. If every other support 
should be withdrawn, this never will. In circumstances 
apparently the most unpropitious, this is a strong 
ground of confidence. In the midst of discouragements 
the most perplexing, a full belief in the promise of a 
continual divine operation, will send a thrill of holy 
courage through the soul. When the pious servant of 
Christ perceives the most awakening appeals to the 
minds of his impenitent hearers, either wholly without 
effect, or serving only to excite their disgust and ann 



16 

mosity — when he finds himself abandoned even by the 
select few who have named the name of Christ, he has 
no reason to despair; he can live on the promise — 
" Lo ! I am with you alway, even unto the end of the 
world." In the strength of this promised assistance, 
he need not " faint in his labour." If the moral des- 
ert should not send forth a luxuriant vegetation beroath 
his labours ; if it still remain " barren and unfruitful," 
his sincere endeavours will not be lost. Others mar 
enter " into his labours and reap that whereon they be- 
stowed no toil." The truth of God's word faithfully 
preached will accomplish that which he designs. It 
will prove either a " savour of life unto life, or of death 
unto death" to those who hear it. If it becomes the 
means of salvation to none besides, the faithful instru- 
ment by whom it is dispensed, will " not lose his re- 
ward." If faithful unto death, he shall receive an in- 
corruptible crown. He "shall shine as the brightness 
of the firmament, and as the stars forever and ever." 

In view of such a " recompense of reward," and 
strengthened by the energies of the Lord of Sabaoth, 
may he who is now to be consecrated to the work of 
the ministry, be enabled to " put on the whole armour 
of God." 

My Brother, 

I turn not to instruct you. My own inexperience 
forbids this. Nor do I speak to congratulate you on 
your prospect of usefulness. It is assigned to others 
who have longer worn the ministerial panoply to charge 
you to be faithful, and to welcome you with greetings 
into our sacred brotherhood. Mine be the language of 
christian sympathy and paternal exhortation. You have 
taken with me a view of some of the duties, difficulties, 
and encouragements of the holy functions to which you 
are now to be consecrated. May the duties and the 
rewards only be yours. But expect discouragements. 
Be prepared for difficulties. Arm yourself to meet 
opposition to your most benevolent endeavours. Ex- 



17 

peet even in this day of boasted liberality a species of 
persecution. " Yea, and all that will live godly in 
Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution." Those who 
will — who must preach the truth, will as certainly give 
offence. Let not the sunshine of present prosperity, 
render you blind to approaching dangers. Beware of 
being seduced into any compromise with that spirit 
which now, as well as formerly, " works in the children 
of disobedience." Although your fidelity to the King 
of Zion, is not to be estimated by the degree of enmity 
which your preaching may excite ; yet there is a sol- 
emn import in the declaration of our Master — " Woe 
unto you, when all men shall speak well of you— for 
so did their fathers to the false prophets." No ! my 
brother, we must expect to disappoint the wishes, and 
offend the taste of those who " oppose themselves to 
the truth." We must expect to be counted " men of 
strife." We must expect to be deemed " babblers" 
and " men who turn the world upside down." But if 
faithful, we need not fear. " The Lord of Hosts is with 
us — the God of Jacob is our refuge." 

" So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watch- 
man unto the house of Israel ; therefore thou shalt 
hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me." 
Be vigilant then. Take heed to thy ministry, take 
heed to thy doctrine, take heed to thyself, and to all 
the flock over which the Holy Ghost maketh thee 
overseer. O my brother, souls are now to be commit- 
ted to your care. That dreadful Being who only fully 
knows their worth, bids you be faithful. Angels who 
will be ever present to minister to such as shall be 
heirs of salvation, bid you be faithful. " The church 
of God which he hath purchased with his own blood," 
bids you be faithful. The congregation of deathless 
souls which here assemble from sabbath to sabbath, 
bids you to be faithful. These hallowed courts — this 
"gate of heaven," utter in redoubled echoes, be thou 
faithful. — Be strong then in the Lord and go forward. 
The field of combat is before you. Gird on the minis- 
3 



1 



18 

terial armour. t6 Endure hardness as a good soldier of 
Jesus Christ." " Fight the good fight of faith." " Be 
not ashamed of the testimony of our Lord." " But 
watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, make full 
proof of thy ministry." And then you will be- 
come the medium of communicating to sinful man the 
treasures of divine grace. Then you may expect the 
unction of divine love will be poured forth on your 
own soul, if not on them for which you watch. Then 
you may expect to finish your course with joy ; and to 
meet in regions of purer light and holier occupations, 
the fruit of your ministry — the crown of your rejoicing 
forever and ever. " Your work is with the Lord, and 
your reward with your God" 



BY REV. MR. GROUT. 

Reverend and Dear Sir, 

Agreeably to the established order of the Great Head of the 
Church, and in his name, and by his authority, we, the ministers 
and messengers of the Churches, have this day, by prayer and im- 
position of hands, invested you with the character and privileges 
of a gospel minister. We have hereby constituted you an officer 
in the kingdom of the Redeemer, with authority to preach the 
word of life, — to administer the sacred seals of the New Testae 
ment, Baptism and the Lord's Supper. We have specially con- 
stituted you a bishop or overseer of Christ's flock in this place, 
with full power to exercise the discipline of the church in a gos- 
pel manner — and also to assist in consecrating others to the sacred 
office and work, and to bless the people in the name of Christ. I 
now by the direction and in behalf of this Council, solemnly charge 
you to be faithful to this weighty and important trust. I charge 
you, therefore, before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall 
judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom ; 
to preach the word, be instant in season, out of season ; reprove, 
rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine ; for the time 
will come, when men will not endure sound doctrine. Shun not 
to declare the whole counsel of God — preach not yourself, but 
Christ the Lord. Indulge not the desire for novelty and innova- 
tion, which, at the present day, is so threatening to the church of 
God. Preach not for doctrines the commandments of men. Let 
Christ and him crucified be your theme, as it was that of the 
Apostles. In the execution of this duty, guard against exhibiting 
the sacred truths, embraced in your theme, in such dress, as may 
conceal their excellency from the hearts and consciences of your 
hearers. Shew to sinners, in a plain and pointed manner, their lost 
and ruined state, and, by the terror of the law, labour to persuade 
them to fly to Christ, as their only remedy. Distinguish between 
the clean and the unclean ; him that feareth God, and him that 
feareth him not. Seek to learn the state of your flock, and adapt 
your discourses, as much as possible, to their moral condition. Fail 
not to visit the sick, the afflicted and the distressed, and to adminis- 
ter to them respectively such counsel and consolation as the gospel 
affords. Comfort mourners — guide inquiring souls to Christ, and, 
in your intercourse with your people, improve every opportunity 
to win them to Christ. Feed both the sheep and the lambs of the 
flock. And, as a scribe, instructed unto the kingdom, rightly 
divide the word of truth, and give to each his portion in season. 

In admitting persons to special christian ordinances, you will re- 
gard the sacred rules of the gospel j and neglect not to administer 



20 

Baptism and the Lord's Supper to such, as are, upon gospel princi- 
ples, entitled to such privileges. 

In attending to the discipline of Chrisfs house, you will conduct 
yourself with impartiality and firmness, and yet with tenderness, 
meekness and love. Seek not to please men, but God, who has ap- 
pointed you your office, and will require an account of your stew- 
ardship. 

In taking special charge of this flock, not by constraint, but wil- 
lingly, we trust you will ever make it your object to seek not 
theirs but them. Strive for their spiritual welfare, by putting them 
in remembrance of their various duties. 

In view of your high responsibility, I would farther charge you, to 
take heed unto yourself, and to your doctrine, that you may save 
both yourself and those who hear you. Labour to live the reli- 
gion, which you preach. Be thou a pattern of good works, and 
an example to believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in 
spirit, in faith, in purity. Give yourself to stud}', meditation and 
prayer, that your profiting may appear unto all. Keep these 
things committed to your trust, that you may be a good minister of 
Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and good doctrine 
vvhereunto thcu hast attained. 

Should you be called to introduce others into this holy office, you 
will have special respect to their religious character, and to their 
ability and aptness to teach. You will, therefore, not encourage a 
novice to teach, nor lay hands suddenly on any man. 

However flattering j^our present prospects, you have reason to 
expect to find some Anakims in the land. You will need the best 
of armour — Put on, therefore, the whole armour of God. 

In a word, I solemnly charge you before God, who quickeneth 
all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate wit- 
nessed a good profession, that you keep this commandment without 
spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

JNeglect not the gift that is in thee, by the laying on of the hands 
of the Presbytery. But watch thou in all things, — endure afflic- 
tions, — do the work assigned you by the Holy Ghost — make lull 
proof of your ministry, and you will find laid up for you a crown of 
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give to 
you at that day, and not to you only, but to all them also, that love 
appearing. Amen. 



RIGHT HAND OF FELLOWSHIP, 

BY REV. MR. SHEPARD. 

K Charity is the bond of perfectness." It unites in indissoluble 
affection all holy intelligences and causes them to rejoice in the 
infinite blessedness of God. It constitutes the joy of angels in 
heaven and is indispensable to the happiness of saints on earth. 

Real christians are all one in Christ Jesus. Having been bap- 
tized into one body, made to drink of one Spirit, built up together 
on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ being 
the chief corner stone, they are essentially one in belief, temper, 
practice, triads, and hopes. Having the same rule of faith and 
practice before them, they become fellow labourers and sufferers 
in the same cause, travellers together in the same road, and candi- 
dates for the same immortal joys. Here is an union of heart and 
soul — an union strong and indissoluble, — -an union formed, not for 
earthly conquest and dominion, but to emancipate men from the 
bondage of sin, and to bring the whole world into happy subjection 
to the Prince of peace. And, blessed be God, we are permitted to 
anticipate the time as not far distant, when, by the mighty ef- 
forts of this Holy Alliance, truly so called, the standard of the Cross 
shall be erected on every shore and its banners wave triumphant 
over every continent and clime. " The weapons of our warfare 
are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of 
strong holds.'" 

The transactions of this day cannot fail to interest and gladden 
the heart of every friend to the Redeemer's cause in this assembly. 
By reason of death, Zion in this place has been called to mourn 
and to breathe forth the prayer of the Psalmist, " help Lord for 
the godly man ceaseth, the faithful fail among the children of 
men." Within the year past, we were called to follow the venera- 
ble and beloved Pastor of this church to the silent grave. There 
repose his mortal remains by the side of hers who was the worthy 
partner of his long and useful labours in the ministry, and whose 
lamented death preceded his, but a few months. More recently 
the voice of weeping has been renewed in your habitations, for the 
friend of the sick, — your beloved physician* was no more. He, 
who bent over your languishing couches, who watched your de- 
clining pulse, and who did all that attention and skill could do, to 
alleviate your pains and ward off the arrows of death, he too was 
laid low in the dust. Your conferences, your sanctuary, your com- 
munions, numbered one the less. Your Society was bereft of one 
of its brightest ornaments, and your church lost a pillar. 

Insatiate archer ! 

Thy shaft flew thrice, and thrice your peace was slain , 

* The death of Dr. Joseph Allen, which took place Oct. 1823, was deep- 
ly lamented among- a large circle of acquaintance. 



22 

A dark pall seemed to hang over your prospects. You looked 
around and sighed with the patriarch, all these things are against 
us. You looked to heaven, nor have you looked in vain. This 
day revives your hopes. It is with much pleasure we behold the 
man of your united and deliberate choice, consecrated to the work 
of the ministry over you. 

My dear Brother — It is with emotions of no ordinary interest that 
I am permitted to welcome you as a fellow labourer, in this part 
of Christ's vineyard. Upon these mountains, strangers we met, 
and here formed our first acquaintance ; little thinking that, at a 
future period, that acquaintance would be rendered more interest- 
ing and dear by being placed side by side in the work of the minis- 
try. It became your lot to succeed me in an highly favoured sem- 
inary and to receive your theological instruction from the same 
lips to which I have so often listened with no ordinary delight and 
edification. How peculiarly gratifying then must it be to me to 
meet you in this consecrated pulpit and as the organ of this eccle- 
siastical Council to present you the Right Hand of Fellowship. 
Receive it, Sir, as a token of my most hearty salutation, and of our 
united christian affection for you. Receive it as a testimonial of 
our approbation of your doctrinal and experimental views of the 
Gospel system, — as an acknowledgment of you as a minister regu- 
larly ordained and installed over this church, qualified to act in all 
ecclesiastical matters, and to administer all the ordinances of our 
holy religion. By this right hand, we express to you the fellow- 
ship of our churches, and pledge to you the hearty cooperation of 
our prayers and counsels in the arduous work before you. And 
by receiving this hand, you in return pledge to us your fervent co- 
operation in earnestly contending for the faith once delivered to 
the saints. 

And now, my brother, we bid you welcome to all the honours 
and trials of the sacred ministry. Would to God that the pleasant 
sun that this day shines upon the prospect before you and your 
dear flock, may never set until lost in the brighter effulgence of 
eternity. But be not disappointed, nor faint from your labours, 
should your faith, your patience, your every christian grace be at 
times, severely tried by the indifference, the fickleness, the oppo- 
sition of the world. Be strong in the Lord and the power of his 
Gospel. Count it your privilege, your highest honour to spend 
and be spent in such a glorious work. The field of your labours 
opens before you and whitens for the harvest. Your reward is on 
high. Here live, and labour ; and here, if it be the will of God, 
leave your bones to moulder by the side of your venerable prede- 
cessor, and seek no higher fame than that the stone that marks 
your slumbering dust shall say to future generations, " Here sleeps 
a faithful minister of Jesus." Let this be told in truth of you and 
me when we are gone, and we need envy no monarch his throne. 



r 



AN ADDRESS TO THE CHURCH & SOCIETY, 

BY REV. MR. MILLER. 

Brethren and Friends — You cannot have forgotten him, who, for 
toany years, ministered to you in this house, and watched for your 
souls : — His counsels, warnings, and prayers must be fresh in your 
recollection : — He has now gone. You have heard his last ser- 
mon : — His lips are now sealed in death : But the effects of his 
ministry and the benefit of his prayers, the circumstances of this 
day will bring to your grateful recollection. Ere his voice had 
scarcely ceased to vibrate in your ears, God has sent you another 
of his servants. The events of this day are an evidence of the con- 
tinued tokens of Divine favour towards you ; and with grati- 
tude you must hail it, as an auspicious moment, on which you be- 
hold the man of your united election, set apart and constituted, ac- 
cording to the order of the gospel, yonr spiritual guide. He has 
been solemnly charged to fulfil the high and responsible duties of 
this office. This charge, in its obligations, is reciprocal. Is he 
bound to minister the gospel to you in this house ? You are bound 
to give to his ministry an habitual attendance. Is he charged to 
preach to you the truths of God's word? then you are bound to 
receive them. Is it his duty faithfully to describe to you the char- 
acter of the saint and the sinner, their peculiar duties and destina- 
tions ? then such a description of truth, it is your duty seriously 
and faithfully to apply to yourselves, according to your real char- 
acters. Is it his duty to lead in the devotions of this house, and to 
be your mouth to God in prayer ? then it is your duty to unite in 
these devotions with a spirit of sincere piety. Is he bound to visit 
and instruct you from house to house ? you are bound cordially to 
receive him, and seriously to attend to his instructions. Is he 
charged to take the oversight of you and maintain the discipline of 
God's house ? it is your duty cheerfully to submit to his ministra- 
tions, as a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Whatever truths he is charged by the Great Head of the Church 
to deliver to you, and whatever duties to enjoin upon you, you are 
bound to receive and obey. If it be his duty affectionately and 
compassionately, as an ambassador of Christ, to warn and entreat 
you, it is yours kindly and gratefully to hearken to him as one that 
speaks in the name of the Lord. You are to remember too, that 
he is a man subject to like passions with yourselves, having the 
sinful, as well as natural, infirmities of our fallen race ; throw the 
mantle of love, therefore, over his defects, and affectionately re- 
member him in your prayers. Is he in affliction? sympathize 
with him, bear his burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. Is he 
desponding and discouraged ? strengthen and encourage his heart 
Is he engaged in conflicting with the enemies of truth and of God, 
: ' Hold up his hands." I only add, receive him as a gift of your 



24 

Saviour ; minister to his wants, both temporal and spiritual ; faith- 
fully improve by his counsels and his labours, that the ministra- 
tion of the gospel by him may be to you a savour of life and not 
of death. 



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